Boss Aston hails Brown: ‘He will be our coach on the field’

A returning favourite, a new face at full-back and youngster with promise all commit to Sheffield Eagles, but it did nothing to halt the recent run of defeats at Barrow last Sunday.

Simon Brown penned a deal until the end of the season just under two months after departing the club, whilst USA international Corey Maklim also arrived on a two-year deal in a busy week behind the scenes for the Eagles.

Add to that confirmation that Blake Broadbent has also signed for the club after a successful trial, all of a sudden coach Mark Aston looks to have options.

Despite the positive news building up to last Sunday’s encounter, the Eagles couldn’t get Makelim’s registration completed in time, whilst Aston was also without loan duo Cory Aston and Garry Lo as the run of defeats ensured a swift exit from the Challenge Cup.

It might by hard to see the positives yet, but Aston is confident that the additions will help the club greatly in the long term.

“He certainly has the experience,” Aston said of Brown.

“He’ll be a major help behind the scenes and of course on the field. He knows when to kick, how to kick and he knows where to play the game in terms of field position.

“He knows how to coach the guys. That’s what he does. It is like having a coach on the field and we need that at the moment. We have looked a little bit lost at times during games, so someone who has that level of experience, like Simon has in abundance, will make sure that we don’t get lost.”

Makelim will offer Aston options at full-back, and provide competition for Ryan Millar who has impressed the long-serving coach despite still being in the infancy of his rugby league career.

“We just need a bit of quality at this time,” Aston added.

“We need to fetch quality players who can add certain things to us. That’s what we need, and Corey will provide that.

“We have seen enough to give him a two-year deal, so we just have to get the visa sorted out now for him. We are well down the line with that, he has his certificate of sponsorship so we are really pleased to have him.”

The plan for Broadbent, son of Eagles legend Paul, looks to be a loan move elsewhere to further his education.

But after six defeats on the spin, Aston has hinted that he may get his chance with the Eagles sooner than he thinks, with the experienced coach including him in the 19-man squad for Barrow last weekend.

The Eagles looked set to be boosted with increased numbers this weekend from their dual-registration agreement with St Helens, as Aston takes his side back to Cumbria for part two of their double-header against Barrow, this time in the Betfred Championship.

The Raiders boast a good home record at Craven Park, beating the likes of Leigh Centurions and drawing with Toronto Wolfpack already this season.